Morality aside

The prospect of detaining immigrant families for months or longer could mean big bucks for incarceration factories CoreCivic and GEO Group. It’s one way these listed U.S. companies can hope to offset an aging population and reduced drug sentences threatening their businesses.

Context News

Parents who cross the border from Mexico illegally with their children will not face prosecution for now because the U.S. government is running out of space to house detained families, Customs and Border Protection officials said on June 25. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the administration was not dropping its policy of “zero-tolerance” of illegal immigration.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency issued a request for information on June 22 about potential facilities for up to 15,000 beds for detained immigrant families. The U.S. military has also been asked to prepare to house up to 20,000 immigrant children.

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at ending his policy of separating children from detained parents. Under the order, immigrant families will be kept together for the duration of their criminal and immigration proceedings.

Under a 1997 settlement, the U.S. government agreed to release detained immigrant children as quickly as possible to a family member, friend or vetted, minimally restrictive institution, and hold children in detention with parents for a maximum of 20 days in a suitable facility.

The U.S. Justice Department has filed a motion in Los Angeles federal district court to modify the terms of a 1997 settlement to allow the government to hold children in detention centers that are not licensed by child-welfare regulations.

Shares in CoreCivic and GEO Group, two listed for-profit prison companies, have risen 13 and 9 percent respectively, over the past month.